Chapter ThreeMature

Almost a full five minutes after the mysterious boy's disappearance, I found myself still slightly dazed and rather lightheaded. By some twist of nature, I managed to force my body to turn around and continue on my original errand to the shop, though my mind was still stuck back at the corner where I met him. I couldn't even recall how he had vanished so suddenly and quickly, though I assumed he had taken a sharp turn into the nearby alleyway I never dared to consider going through.

Well, he's far braver than what I would have expected from such a beautiful person.

Who was he? I found myself wondering, and why didn't he tell me his name?

Deciding to try and shrug off the strange meeting for now, I wandered into the shop, the door tinkling as I did.

"Ah, if it isn't Mia!" The jolly old shopkeeper, Brian I think his name was, welcomed me. "What brings you here today?"

"Just getting some milk, we've ran out," I replied with a small smile.

He peered at me over his round glasses, his bald head shining differently under the light. "Are you alright? You seem a little shaken up."

"Just a strange meeting with a strange person," I shrugged it off, and went about getting the item I came for.

A woman was bustling around in the savouries isle across from the refridgerators where the cold items were stored - milk and suchlike. As I quietly moved past the woman, I heard her muttering to herself, fretting over something. "Oh bother... this won't do, oh..."

I felt a little sorry for her. Whatever was wrong, it really seemed to be annoying her. After getting a large carton of full-fat milk, I turned to her. "Um, excuse me miss... Is everything alright?"

I tried not to sound as nosy as it probably seemed. I really did only want to help."Oh, yes, I'm just having some trouble trying to decide which of these would be best for my son's birthday party tomorrow," she waved her hand over the shelf where numerous little tarts and cakes were packaged. "He asked me to get some things for him since he had other things to do, but now that I'm here I'm not sure which he would want most."

I thought for a moment. "Well, you could try these, I've had them before and they're really good."

After a short while the woman was at the counter, me not far behind. She was smiling widely as I handed the carton of milk to Brian.

"I can't thank you enough!" She beamed at me. I returned the smile easily. I liked to help people.

"Don't worry about it miss, anybody would have done it."

"That's where you're wrong, there," Brian interjected with a sad smile as he put the milk into a little bag. "You've a heart of gold, Mia, while most humans' hearts are corrupted. Especially the younger ones who think they've got it all." He shook his head. "The adults can be just as bad."

I left the shop quite bewildered that day. What the hell just happened? Walking back down the street towards my house, I let my mind wander as it usually did. I felt my train of thought jump from subject to subject, drifting past the boy from earlier, to Cail, to Rim and eventually to my friends. Somehow they reminded me of what had happened at school.

I hadn't thought about the blackout from earlier almost since it had actually happened. Today had just been such an eventful and hectic day that I hadn't had the time. Between meeting Cail and the other boy, so many strange things had happened.

It almost seemed as if, since saving Rim, everything was connected.

It was a ridiculous notion, but as I walked ever forwards down the street, somehow the more real it seemed. As if Rim was the start of a lot of things still to come, and come they would. A wave of nausea hit me. For a moment I was terrified that another dream might come, but something told me it wouldn't.

That first dream had been triggered, not an accident. How else could I explain the fact that it had happened almost directly after saving Rim?

All too soon, I arrived home. Outside was really the only place I could think, but with these thoughts running through my head, I knew I wouldn't be at peace until I found out more.

I needed to know how to trigger the rest of my memories. I needed to know who I really was, and why I had tried to run away from whoever the group of white-coated men were. The question was, how was I supposed to find out how to trigger the dreams?

I was wrenched from my thoughts as I unlocked the door at my house and went inside. Going through to the kitchen, I found Rim still perched on the chair, cooing quite happily. I shoved the milk into the fridge before I forgot and got a scolding from my mum when she came back, and went over and patted her head with one finger.

I let her up to my shoulder and giggled when she started nuzzling into my neck again.

I passed the time quite easily until my mum came home. When she walked in the front door, she found me sitting at the dining table with an unfinished sketch, waiting to be filled in with pencil, pen or paint. A golden eagle was flying over the page, wings spread wide, while Rim sat on my shoulder watching the pencil's movements.

"I see you've been busy," she said dryly.

"I've only been in for like ten minutes, give me a break!" I grumble jokingly. She relented, laughing, and started bustling about for a cup of tea before we left. "Hey, mum..."

"What is it sweetie?" She glanced over her shoulder while the kettle boiled.I put down my pencil. "Do you sometimes wonder who my real parents were?" I pondered out loud.

She froze. "Honey..." Turning around to face me, boiling kettle forgotten, she wore a sad expression.

Watching her closely, I tilted my head curiously; this wasn't new, but before I had never asked about her strange reactions. "What is it?"

She looked like she was about to say something, but eventually closed her eyes with a quiet "nothing", instead turning back to her tea. The kettle was boiling. "I just, wonder why you ask me that sometimes."

That wasn't the whole truth and I knew it wasn't. "You know why I ask it," I pressed. "But you won't ever answer me."

I looked on as the boiling water steamed its way into my mum's mug. "You knew who they were, a long time ago," she began. "But because of your amnesia, you've forgotten the truth. I can't interfere with your memory's rebuilding." She turned back towards me. "It's something you've got to regain on your own."

I felt cheated, and quite hurt. She wouldn't tell me, because of that?

"Mum, they're my parents... You can't keep something like that from me!" I exclaimed, not realising how much my voice gave away my feelings. "Just because of my amnesia?" Rim ruffled her good wing a little, indignant at the loud noises around her.

"You know very well I don't mean to!" She raised her voice. She barely ever raises her voice. "I won't tell you because I can't, not because I don't want to!" She angrily put the kettle back in its place. "Your amnesia is not normal, Mia! If something goes wrong, I don't know what will happen to you!"

I sat, speechless. She's right, I thought to myself. She's right and there's nothing I can do about it.

Lifting myself up off the chair, I picked up my stuff from the table and made my way silently to my bedroom, making sure to shut the door without a sound.

Story summary

Five years after I really began living again, my unknown past starts coming back to haunt me. My best friends are acting strange, there's a new boy in school (total hottie, by the way), and to top it off, my amnesia seems to be wearing thin. The struggle can only get harder when you're a teenager, I guess. More so when you don't know who you are.

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